US embassy cable - 02ANKARA8867

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 008867 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, TU, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2002 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
HEADLINES 
December 7-9, 2002 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Erdogan Begins the Last Tour for EU entry - Turkiye 
Erdogan Meets with Bush tomorrow - Hurriyet 
Papandreu: Accession Date is Turkey's right - Milliyet 
Erdogan: EU accession date should be no later than  2003 - 
Hurriyet 
Denktas starts negotiations on his return to the island - 
Hurriyet 
US can strike Iraq in January - Milliyet 
Iraq submits WMD report to UN - Hurriyet 
 
 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
FM Yakis: Date should be given in Thessaloniki - Radikal 
Turkey Lobbies for EU entry - Yeni Safak 
Europe cannot decide about Turkey - Cumhuriyet 
Heavy Diplomatic Traffic in Cyprus - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Erdogan's visit to US: Sunday's "Sabah" gives front-page 
coverage to AKP leader Erdogan's visit to the US.  Erdogan 
is going to the US for 24 hours at the invistation of 
President Bush.  Washington will welcome Erdogan with the 
highest level of  protocol.  Today's "Zaman" reports that 
Erdogan will meet with SecDef Rumsfeld, SecState Powell, and 
National Security Advisor Condolezza Rice before meeting 
with President Bush and Vice-President Cheney.  Reportedly, 
The US will reportedly support Turkey's EU accession, and 
Erdogan will remind the US that Turkey was not compensated 
after the Gulf war, and cannot endure new economic losses. 
 
 
EU: All papers report on Turkey's EU lobbying efforts, from 
every angle, on the eve of the Copenhagen Summit.  "Zaman" 
reports that Erdogan went to Copenhagen last night to seek 
support from EU term President Denmark's Prime Minister 
Rasmussen.  Erdogan reportedly said that the EU should begin 
talks with Turkey before the end of 2003.  President Sezer 
and PM Gul will also go to Copenhagen for meetings with EU 
officials.  "Yeni Safak" reports that the government has 
launched a new operation for stepping up pressure on the EU. 
Meanwhile, Turkish businessmen have launched an advertising 
campaign in newspapers across the EU.  The advertisements 
carry pictures of two plants, one without a flower and the 
other with a red flower representing Turkey.  The message 
below reads: `take action now and the results will surprise 
you.' 
 
 
Cyprus: Sunday's "Hurriyet" reports that TRNC president 
Denktas returned to Cyprus after the heart surgery in the 
US.  On his return, Denktas met with PM Gul and AKP leader 
Erdogan at the airport in Istanbul, and stressed that he had 
no hope for a settlement in Cyprus.  Although Sunday papers 
quoted PM Gul as saying that there were no disagreements 
between Turkey and the TRNC, Sunday's "Zaman" comments that 
the negative turn in EU accession talks was weakening hopes 
for a solution in Cyprus. 
 
 
Iraq: All weekend papers and TV channels covered Iraq's 
11,000-page report on its WMD program, which was submitted 
to the UN.  "Hurriyet" reports that the US does not trust 
Iraq, and insists that it has proof that Iraq does indeed 
possess weapons of mass destruction.  "Milliyet" cites the 
New York Times in reporting that US deployments in the Gulf 
will be sufficient by January 2003 to launch an operation 
against Iraq. 
US Senators visit Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq: Weekend 
papers and today's "Turkish Daily News" cover Senators Biden 
and Hagel meeting with politicians and refugees in Kurdish- 
controlled Northern Iraq.  This is the highest level US 
visit to the autonomous zone since it was established in 
1991 following the Gulf war. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
1. Erdogan to US 
2. Turkey-EU 
 
 
 
 
"Ozal treatment for Erdogan" 
Washington reporter of mass appeal "Milliyet" Yasemin Congar 
wrote (12/9): "The US President is going to host Tayyip 
Erdogan as a prime minister.  Erdogan's treatment as 
Turkey's new leader coincides with the upcoming EU summit, 
in which the US will repeat its message to Europe: `Turkey 
should be in Europe.' . Erdogan's visit is the result of 
American pragmatism.  The U.S. simply put aside the question 
marks about protocol issues, as well as the possible 
uneasiness within the Turkish military.  Instead, reality 
prevailed - that is, Iraq, September 11, and the EU.  There 
is also an Erdogan phenomenon in Washington.  There are many 
in the US administration who believe that Tayyip Erdogan 
might the first true successor to Turkey's late president 
Ozal. . Yet it would be too early to say that the US has 
already found a new Ozal spirit in Erdogan.  It is true that 
both Grossman and Wolfowitz left Turkey with very positive 
impressions about Erdogan, and that Erdogan's reformist 
approach is very much appreciated here.  But a group of 
`Turkey-watchers' are still skeptical about Tayyip Erdogan. 
The analysts in the think-tanks frequently note that `a 
leopard cannot change its spots.'  . However, the Bush 
administration is not acting with skepticism  -- at least 
for the time being.  The US Government seems to have awarded 
Erdogan `advance credit,' which is a very rare thing in 
Washington.  It remains to be seen how much Mr. Erdogan will 
use this unique opportunity." 
 
 
"The 2005 Crap" 
Yilmaz Oztuna wrote in mass appeal-conservative Turkiye 
(12/9): "The date for the EU accession in Chirac and 
Schroeder's minds is very wrong, and has the potential to 
undermine Turkey's relations with the EU.  They think that 
July 2005 is a valid date, but in fact it is both wrong and 
suffers from a lack of justification.  Turkey cannot 
tolerate being kept in the waiting room for another three 
years.  We are talking about a country which has been a 
member of NATO since 1952 and signed the first agreement for 
European membership in 1963, at a time when the EU consisted 
of 6 members. . Yes, we have a lot to do, and yes, we have 
made some mistakes along the way.  Yet all of this does not 
justify the critical mistake that France and Germany are 
planning to make."